A: I don’t have a hands-down favorite but instead look at the fit between goals for a project I want to publish and publishers’ specialties. For instance, when developing material for classroom use, open-source books are an excellent choice. Material can be rapidly published, easily updated, and readily modified when errors are discovered or clarifications needed. The material is shared and a group of users can form to help support the material. For an article or book that targets academics, it is important to find a publisher that offers rigorous peer reviews, markets material in relevant venues, is represented at related conferences, and has a reasonable publication cycle time. Recently, I have noticed many journals are seeking to develop faster publication turnaround and enhance their ability to get material to research peers more rapidly. A welcome and recent addition to the publishing world has been for-profit publishers that provide open source books. I have worked with several and found that combination can provide respect for a publication and rapid turnaround---a great combination for technology fields. Stipends may also be provided to fund summer work or research assistants.

Q: Do you have a particular strategy for selecting whom you want to publish with—in terms of publishers? 

A: I generally seek publishers that have an appreciation for the topic being developed and for the targeted constituents. In other words, I believe strongly in developing material that is affordable and high quality. I always review publishers’ ratings on various book sales sites and I carefully review their catalogs to ensure my work aligns with their priorities. I seek to develop a good rapport with publishers and like to work with professional, approachable individuals. 

  
Q: In your fields of business and computer science, what features must a piece of writing have in order to appear in publication? Why?

A: Most publications in my area must have a theoretical, research-oriented finding; and develop a practical discussion of uses or relevance. I have noticed recent trends toward ensuring research findings ultimately translate into something useful to society or organizations. 

 
Q: What sorts of research projects appeal to you? Would you describe some of your more recent ones?

A: I enjoy working on a variety of projects. I use research as a means of continually educating myself and giving back to the communities I draw from. I believe researchers are becoming more interconnected due to the Internet and its search capabilities. As a result, I have begun a number of collaborative projects with new colleagues. I always have a multiple research projects ongoing. Recently, I have been investigating digital deception and its impact on computer-mediated job interviews. I also have been taking a big data approach to wiki page construction, investigating how editorial changes impact a variety of variables. In other areas, I have started collecting and analyzing data related to student academic integrity beliefs. And in yet another: how word usage in interviews of systems analysts reveal the paradigm they use to structure problem solutions. An undergraduate researcher of mine is investigating use of Twitter in various higher education settings. I am also working to develop video artifacts for use in classrooms and presentations using new technology and new pedagogical approaches. So, as you can see, it is a rather eclectic mixture. But, that’s what keeps me engaged and interested!

Q: How do you check your work before submitting it for peer review? For editorial review? Do you have a systematic process, or is it more by experience and feel? 

A: Depending on the project, I have a few approaches I use. One is to have a reliable network of colleagues willing to provide critical feedback. I have several longtime associates that work with me to help ensure material is ready to send out. I do the same for them. Before they see it, I write, and then let the material sit for a couple days or even longer. Afterwards, I read it for content, grammar and flow. For particularly important pieces, I read them out loud to myself and make sure everything sounds correct. I learned this approach from my sister, Sue, who is a New York Times bestselling author. I also like to do extra checks on the background material to determine if I am missing any recent literature. Really, my best advice is edit, edit, and edit. The longer I have, the more I tinker. But, sooner or later you have to let it go. After that, it can take on its own life and that is interesting too. 

 
Q: Based on your areas of expertise and your review work, are you seeing more works engaging issues of "big data"? If so, what are some of the themes? Are researchers showing a good handle on how to collect and interpret big data?

A: Big data is very important in my field. Businesses are studying material acquired from Internet sources, sensors, mobile devices, and social media. As a result, researchers are revisiting many tricky problems and theories using methodologies related to big data. Innovative ideas and problem-solving approaches have resulted from big data “thinking” and this has created a great deal of new interest in many areas.

Q: When you're peer-reviewing a piece of writing, what are some things you look for? What helps a work get accepted? What are deal breakers for you? 

The best article to receive as a reviewer is one that offers an unexpected surprise. An innovative idea, approach, or new angle on a theoretically-supported topic goes a long way toward providing a motivation for a reviewer to work with the authors to turn out a piece that contributes to scholarship in the area. Deal breakers for me include poor writing that obviously hasn’t been proofread, articles that are not current or appear to have missed recent advances, and articles that are not structured in a way that communicates the topics. Good research can always find a publisher! 

 
Q: How do you support your students to publish? What do you emphasize? Are you noticing any trends in terms of strengths and weaknesses? 

A: I enjoy working with students on their publication aspirations. Recently, it seems that students are becoming more aware of how publishing can impact their desired career path and provide opportunities through channels they hadn’t previously considered. If a student develops a project that is particularly innovative, I may approach them in a discussion about its publication potential. If the student is interested and becomes engaged in the process, I will work with them to develop a publication. My approach is to ask them to put together the best write-up possible. Then we work together to put it into a format that meets the target publication’s format. I feel students are providing more innovative projects recently and are particularly thinking about how technology can automate tasks in their primary interest area. Students have broad access to information and are able to conduct research in more ways than ever before. There are many smart and engaged students out there!

Q: Once people go into industry, there seems to be much less of a role in terms of research and publications—except in-house in a company. Do you have any opinion about the role research and publication should play in a non-academic career?

A: My academic career had its beginnings in a publication I developed about innovative work being done in the organization that employed me. At the time, I had to be aware that a balance between the company’s competitive advantage and my desire to share important information had to be considered. Unlike an academic project, I had to ensure my organization approved the contents for publication. The article led to new work for my company, a book contract for me, a class I taught as an adjunct, and eventually my move to academics. My case may not be typical but it was exciting and really changed my life. In most instances, innovative work is kept confidential in the corporate world to protect potential profits. Publications that do appear often take a marketing perspective and are used to advertise innovation and enhance positive visibility. My opinion is that research is very important in non-academic careers and publication, though often not central to job descriptions, can still provide amazing and unexpected outcomes. It did for me! 

 
Q: Anything else you may want to add?

A: I am a strong advocate of continual research, exploration, reading, note-taking, and writing. Not everything will yield a publication but the joy of developing artifacts that can be shared in a variety of ways makes it all worthwhile!! Writing is learning, constructing, and enhancing knowledge---both your own and that of others! 

Roger McHaney, professor of management information systems, is an expert on business use of technology and on the ways Web 2.0 and tech-savvy millennials are impacting higher education and learning. He also studies distance education learning and delivery techniques.

His work has been published in many top business and education journals. He also has written textbooks and developed a variety of instructional material---in both open source and for-profit outlets. He has lectured internationally, in countries such as India, New Zealand, China, the United Kingdom, Italy, Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands.

A K-State faculty member since 1995, McHaney teaches courses in management of information systems, information resources management, software development and enterprise computing. His areas of research include Web 2.0 in education and business, technologies used by millennials, discrete event simulation, educational simulation systems, computer-mediated communication systems, and organizational computing.

His ongoing research includes studies on how social media is impacting business and education, distance learning techniques, online business applications and development of online training simulations.

McHaney was recognized for his excellence in teaching by being named K-State's 2006-2007 Coffman Chair for University Distinguished Teaching Scholars. As Coffman chair, he collected various distance learning techniques being used across campus and compiled an online educational resource that makes the transition to distance learning easier for faculty and staff. He has recently authored the book "The New Digital Shoreline: How Web 2.0 and Millennials are Revolutionizing Higher Education."

He earned both bachelor and master degrees from Lake Superior State University, and a doctorate in computer information system and quantitative analysis from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas.

Dr. McHaney can be contacted at 785-532-7479 or mchaney@k-state.edu.